Discovered the secret of pirates from Vis

Discovered the secret of pirates from Vis. Near island Vis clashed Napoleon’s soldiers and the British, who held the island. Because the situation was the center of smuggling. Underwater archaeologists accidentally found a sunken old sailboat and the first of 16 Venetian cannons on them. Location discovered Scuba dives Antonio Nad, he sailed to the diving location and at sea are burned new ladders that had forgotten to remove. When Antonio returned two hours later, I could not find them, but at the sea bottom, he discovered the guns.Graduate archaeologist and head of the Diving center Anma its discovery in 2014 reported the Conservation Department in Split, who had informed Croatian Conservation Institute. Although the underwater archaeologists then first dive to the remains, only in September last year began to research. At the bottom near the entrance to the harbor of Vis and at the foot of the fortress of St. George lay on a sailboat that is most likely belonged whiskey smugglers or traffickers who had a base there. They are the beginning of the 19th century with the British fought against Napoleon’s France.

People normally dive 150 meters away from the ship and no one had ever noticed. More, is relatively clear, the bottom is sandy and I could see him while I was at the depth of 20 meters. It lies at 50 – was described by Nagy. Unidentified sailing intrigued archaeologists and before beginning studies in 2016 from the bottom out only a bronze cannon from the ship. Unlike the other nine iron, this is well preserved.

Photo-Top cast in bronze is the most valuable findings from the shipwreck

– The gun remained years of its production, in 1696, the initials ‘S A’ and the symbol of a winged lion. It gave us know that it is poured Italian foundry Sigismondo In Alberghetti, whose family 300 years worked guns for the Venetian Republic – said the expert lead researcher, archaeologist Jurica Bezak from the Department of Underwater Archaeology of the Air Force. This discovery is significant because this is the first of 16 Venetian guns that are found in our part of the Adriatic and which are the symbol of a winged lion. But only to cannon archaeologists could not conclude when the sailing ship sank. In six days the first stage of research in September from the seabed pulled out a bottle of water, ceramics, part of marine vessels, a button with uniforms and part of the wooden hull. After comparing with other findings and analysis of the age of wood concluded that the ship was sailing the Adriatic in the early 19th century.

At the time, Visa ruled the soldiers of Great Britain, which is the island was a key port and the link between the Mediterranean and northern Adriatic. Because of the war with Napoleon Vis has become a key place for smuggling goods, food, and weapons, helping allies or enemies and looting. That the surplus sailboat must have been in use, says a bunch of Marine balls that are found in the wreckage. Although they found the wooden parts of the ship were in good condition, archaeologists have found traces of soot and concluded that, before it sank, the ship surely burned. This theory is supported by the historical note that the French commander Bernard Dubourdieu in November 1810. robbed Vis. On their boats hung the flag of the former Great Britain to trick opponents. Although reports from that time very, Dubourdieu says his superiors that he then burned 62 boats and captured ten pirate vessels. Yet determined whether this sailing one of the burned ships.

At the bottom they found a total of 10 guns, a top cast in bronze is the most valuable findings from the shipwreck. According to the first estimate, the ship was in the type of Brig, had two masts with cross sails and was about 30 meters long. After a ceramic bowl and bottle, it connects to the early 19th century. Research is continuing this year.

Battle of Vis

Battle of Vis

was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a larger squadron of French and Italian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. The engagement was fought in the Adriatic Sea for possession of the strategically important island of Lissa (Croatian as Vis), from which the British squadron had been disrupting French shipping in the Adriatic. The French needed to control the Adriatic to supply a growing army in the Illyrian Provinces, and consequently dispatched an invasion force in March 1811 consisting of six frigates, numerous smaller craft and a battalion of Italian soldiers.

The French invasion force under Bernard Dubourdieu was met by Captain William Hoste and his four ships based on the island. In the subsequent battle, Hoste sank the French flagship, captured two others, and scattered the remainder of the Franco-Venetian squadron. The battle has been hailed as an important British victory, due to both the disparity between the forces and the signal raised by Hoste, a former subordinate of Horatio Nelson. Hoste had raised the message “Remember Nelson” as the French bore down, and had then maneuvered to drive Dubourdieu’s flagship ashore and scatter his squadron in what has been described as “one of the most brilliant naval achievements of the war”.